NEW YORK – The Columbia archery team headed west in late March, to take on the top archers not only in the country, but also in the world, as the Lions took part in the 2012 AAE Arizona Cup, March 22-25 in Phoenix, Ariz.

In the recurve bracket, Columbia seniors Anna Harrington and Sarah Chai drew each other in the first round, with Chai advancing by winning the match, 6-4. In the round of 16, Chai took on three-time Olympian Khatuna Lorig, and fell, 7-1. Sophomore Marilyn He faced off against eventual semifinalist and fourth-place finisher Mackenzie Brown in the first round and fell, 6-0, while first-year Grace Kim fell to Stephanie Miller in the first round, by a similar score of 6-0. First-year Sarah Bernstein also took part in the recurve bracket, suffering a 6-2 first round loss to Andrea Gaviria of Colombia.

The compound bracket once again saw two Lions draw each other in the first round of the tournament, as senior Sydney Shaefer and first-year Gladys Velez-Caicedo faced off early on. Shaefer won, 127-122 to advance to the round of 16, where she took on Jamie Van Natta. Van Natta, the eventual gold medalist, beat Shaefer, 147-120. Sophomore Mary Quien also took on one of the top finishers, as she faced off against Tristan Skarvan, falling 147-133. Skarvan was the eventual silver medalist in the compound division.

"The Lions went toe to toe with some of the best in the world," head coach Derek Davis said. "I'm very proud of their performance and composure. This makes us stronger and I'm excited about the remainder of our season."

Up next for the Lions is the annual Nanook of the North tournament, which will take place in Mansfield, Conn., Saturday, April 14 to Sunday, April 15.